Baron Davis is the leader of the Golden State Warriors and their best player. Correct on one of two. While he is their most talented player, it is widely acknowledged that Stephen Jackson is their leader and emotional catalyst. And, as Davis' agent points out in the article, no other team has the cap room to match what Davis is guaranteed in his player option for 08-09 with the Warriors. So he likely isn't going anywhere.

"Tech doping"? How Speedo's LZR suit breaks swim records

"...who must wear new suits every 10th swim." WTF? Any swimmers out there that can explain this to me? Is this normal for any swimsuit, or just the LZR? I wouldn't call this technological doping so much as a technological arms race. Wearing an old-school suit now is like bringing a knife to a gunfight. I'm sure less-wealthy countries will recall the universal values of Olympism as they're getting pasted in the pool.

Rushin' to the Olympics:

But the Olympics (modern not ancient Greco) were started for countries to come together in peaceful means for the purpose of freindly competition. My guys against your guys, in sport, not war. Hmmm....is it possible that binary my-guys-against-your-guys thinking perpetuates a war-like mindset? The modern Olympics were introduced in 1896 and their "peaceful competition" played out against perhaps the bloodiest century in the history of humankind. Or maybe you're right: the bloodshed would have been worse if we didn't have the salve of Olympic competition every quadrennial.

Olympic torch put out by protests.

Good point cjets, though a small clarification: the torch/flame was introduced in 1928 in Amsterdam and the first torch relay that traversed national borders was used by Hitler and Goebbels in 1936. And there is no evidence from Antiquity of a torch run spanning multiple city-states, either. It was a local event in which a flame was run to an altar to light a candle in homage to the gods. In neither 1936 nor Antiquity was the torch sponsored by Lenovo.

Olympic torch put out by protests.

Spitztengle kind of beat me to it, but the Olympics have always been about politics, long before 1980. You can look at the Cold War state-sponsored doping programs at their peak in Montreal in 1976 or Palestinian terrorism in Munich in 1972 or the slaughter of Mexican students and Black Power in 1968 or Japan's post-WWII reconstruction and coming out party in 1960 or Berlin's showcase of the Aryan ideals in 1936 ... ... or, as lil_brown_bat points out, you could right back to 1896 when Coubertin revived the Olympic Games and decided to centre competition around nation-states when there was no historical precedent for such competition in Antiquity, instead of simply making it an open competition for the world's athletes. In other words, the Olympics have always been a site of political discourse and conflict. Thinking that they ever were (revisionist nostalgia) or could be (delusional utopia) is like buying into the slick marketing rhetoric that says there are no human rights violations taking place in Guantanam...err...Guangzhou. That said, I'm sort of torn, and perhaps cautiously optimistic (in the lesser of two evils) that the market economics the Olympics will facilitate in the very near Chinese future have a better chance of changing things internally than symbolic political acts like a boycott of the Games. And that said, I still fully support any individual (ie. non-nation-state based) acts of protest, boycott or other awareness-raising activities that express a personal political response to the situation.

Jason Kidd traded to the Mavs.

2008: Nets deal Jason Kidd for a young star (Harris), two nice young players (Ager and Diop), draft picks and financial flexibility 2009: Nets deal Vince Carter in a similar deal for 65 cents on the dollar, but get a few young prospects 2010: Nets deal Richard Jefferson at the trading deadline 2010: Nets move to Brooklyn 2010 (summer): Nets sign LeBron James to the Big Apple via free agency; the kids are now veterans; challenge for the title in 1-2 seasons There's your game plan right now...

Sparano beginning of Dolphins shakeup

Double Amputee Can't Run in Beijing Olympics

Wheelchair racers have been a separate part of marathons for years. But wheeling with one's arms is not running, so it makes sense for it to be separate. As DJE points out, it is the process that is of concern here. Running with fancy new Nikes or prosthetic blades on your feet is still running. How does one go about finding that well-defined line? How can Olympism claim to espouse a universal value system, but segregate and exclude based on defining what a body is/n't? If he only had one of these blades and one "real" leg, would he have been allowed to compete? And what if they find a way to synthesize the polymer with his DNA such that it becomes one substance? And ... I could go on for a while ... yikes.

Interview with Stan Honey, inventor of puck-swoosh and yellow first-down line TV graphics.

Interview with Stan Honey, inventor of puck-swoosh and yellow first-down line TV graphics.

Much of the technology that Mr. Honey used, borrowed, improved upon, and invented to generate the yellow line is in use in the defense industry today. I remember talking to Juri Varangu, the Canadian contact for Princeton Video Imaging a few years ago, and he was telling me the same thing: it was trickle-down missile tracking technology from the first Gulf War. The other thing it reminded me of, while I'm at it, is the glow-puck. I'm kind of curious as to why it hasn't been utilized again. Instead of blue and red, make it gold and silver sparkles. Tracers, dude! Add it to racquetball and put it on ESPN2 at 2am....you're telling me stoned college kids wouldn't watch this? I've been wanting to do this for years now, but nobody will let me run a TV network.

Chris Bosh

If you asked Bosh, he wouldn't think he should be there ahead of LeBron or KG either (particularly since Garnett has eaten him alive in every matchup this season). This video was just another step in the process of a young, shy kid gradually emerging from his shell (as 23-year-olds do) and coming to terms with his celebrity and stardom in the self-deprecating fashion that endeared fans to him in the first place.

Gatorade Inventor Dies

Anyone else for H2H Fantasy Basketball?

I had one of those weird right-before-you-wake-up dreams this morning, and amongst a bunch of other surreal activities I had this crazy fantasy team with Big Baby Davis and other wild picks. And I jumped out of bed---"Oh SHIT!!! The draft was last night!!" I screamed to my wife. Sorry about forgetting, gang. I always enjoy draft night and the banter. My team looks okay, though Yahoo may have been a little aggressive for my liking.

2007-2008 Spofi Fantasy Basketball league signups

Which NBA lottery team built up the most positive karma during the season,

Either way, don't fire him until after the draft. He's good at that. The way I am reading it, Ainge is actually a lot like Isiah Thomas: they are both pretty big-name former players, both won championships and both are great at finding hidden talent. But neither are worth a goddam when it comes to the strategic planning and financial management of being a professional NBA GM.

Women's Basketball and Free Market Economics

Am I overlooking something? I think Weedy meant something less US-centric....that in men's sports talent has migrated globally to where it most valued (in soccer, baseball, hockey, etc. etc.) for quite some time.....though maybe I am putting words in his mouth. My only question is what happens when Daddy Warbucks pulls the plug on the whole operation? I mean, my "free market" title is a little misleading if the guy is essentially just throwing leisure money around with no sustainable business model.

Bulls 1

Team sport is built wholly on the premise of just that: the team. You cannot ask a group of people to band together, grind through the practices, the games and the ups and downs of a season, travel through airports and room together on the road, share meals, banter in the locker room, work hard to come back from injuries, have everything crystallize for one run through the playoffs ... and then if some opponent takes a cheap shot at your best player, to NOT instinctively react. What should happen is that AFTER you instinctively react and take the first steps towards the conflict, you'd better regain your composure and not get involved. The PHX assistants did a great job of not letting Diaw and Stoudemire reach the fray, which dissipated their initial (reasonable) desire to protect their teammate. Suspension unwarranted. If they get there and shove, elbow, punch, then suspension warranted. I have no problem with that. That's why there must be a subjective interpretation with this rule, and not the (purportedly) objective usage of a "cross the sideline and you're suspended" policy. The NBA expects these guys to turn off the sense of "team" like a switch -- you cannot do that and still have a compelling product on the floor. We watch pro sport because of what great individuals are capable of accomplishing as a team.

From 0 to 99 and everything in between.

Pistons 4

Sorry TelamarketersBeware, I took it as given that Gordon and/or Deng will make shots on any given night....Hinrich always seems to be the question mark for the Bulls team. When he is on, their emotion and focus is pretty unbeatable. As for Thomas, I hear your point, but the main reason he didn't play in the Miami series revolved around matchups...there was nobody for him to guard. I will be very surprised if he doesn't get much more time in this series, although if Nocioni is playing well, that could be negated (which is what I was referring to when I said Skiles has more flexibility offensively...ie. go big, small, shooters, defenders). Oh, and by the way Snikastyle, it's not exactly the prediction you were looking for, but...

Pistons 4

Echoing Weedy, watching the Raptors has been painful to the point of misery (while lightening my wallet in the process).... PublicUrinal, in my opinion you are right about Bosh not stepping up...I honestly believe his ineptitude has been the key to this series. I understand long and lean Mikki Moore giving him problems, but Jason Collins has essentially shut him down as well, which is inexcusable. He has become in this series what we always lamented about Vince Carter: an amazingly quick talent who settles for outside jumpers. As others pointed out, Detroit-Chicago is going to be a fantastic series. They *really* are almost identical: great jumpshooting 2-guards (Hamilton, Gordon), athletic and versatile wings (Prince and Deng) and deep in the post (Webber, Wallace, McDyess vs. Wallace, Brown and Thomas). Both teams defend like all hell and both rely probably a little too much on their perimeter game to win the championship. They even both have an Argentinian swingman coming off the bench. Keys: Chicago usually puts Hinrich on the opposing team's scoring guard (ie. Rip), which leaves Gordon to guard Billups. Chauncey is going to torch him a few times in the series, shooting over him and breaking him off the dribble. Hinrich *has* to make shots or the Bulls are f+cked. Likewise for Tay Prince. Ty Thomas has to continue his impressive learning curve, or McDyess will eat him up. The coaching matchup: I don't think the Pistons generally like Flip Saunders all that much, so we'll see what happens when the series gets tight down the stretch. On the other hand, I think Skiles runs the best stuff out of timeouts in the league, and that he has more flexibility to make adjustments as the series progresses. I also think the Bulls generally buy into what he's all about. Give Skiles the edge here. The Big Ben factor: it's relatively easy to take a gifted shooter out of his game, but much harder to take an aggressive rebounder, defender and shot blocker away -- there are fewer fine motor skills involved. He will be very motivated and will probably win a game for Chicago outright in the series with his presence. Pick: I am going with athleticism and coaching over experience.....Bulls in 6. Maybe that is why my wallet is lighter? ;)

Pacers Bounce Carlisle

I think I'm going to be sick.....I left Amir Johnson on the bench for Ninny Hilario because Amir sucked against the Raptors on Tuesday night, so I figured Detroit was beginning its tune-up. Ninny sits out and I leave Amir's 20 and 12 on the bench. (Mavericks-level stomach punch, eh Ufez?) Anyways, congrats dusted....even if Joe Smith was just dumb luck, you were in a position to take advantage of the dumb luck in the first place...no mean feat. And thanks for all of the work on the updates during the year! Hopefully I'll have another crack next at you next year....

I don't think the commissioner has control over league-end date...it would have to be a system-wide thing for Yahoo, which I imagine they will be hearing about, especially since the Sports Guy griped about it a while ago, didn't he?

From Nike, Thank You

Referee Suspended Indefinitely

Familyman: great point. alvinthefirst: though an interesting suggestion that I didn't consider, I would argue that if Crawford really wanted to influence a game for gambling purposes, he could do it a lot more subtly than that. I think even Stern isn't clear about what Stern said. No problem here....Crawford is evaluated technically as one of the top officials year in and year out. But there have been blowups -- such as the multiple technical Dallas game mentioned above -- that otherwise cloud his usually impeccable technical proficiency.

Exactly....I had to hang on to KG for a few days just in case he pulled an appearance out for the love of the fans or something. I'm hoping that Dallas uses tonight as a tuneup and just sets out to thrash Golden State (especially since they haven't beaten them yet this year), but I'm not counting on it.

Referee Suspended Indefinitely

I think the suspension was warranted, but knowing the NBA and Stern, I am surprised they made such a public spectacle of the whole thing. They are very capable of squelching the media when necessary -- why not just say the situation is under review and quietly not assign Crawford to a playoff crew?

When Garnett decides to shut it down championship week, you have to be a little strategic, I guess. (You'll get a nice taste of that tonight when Sam Mitchell lets Bosh play about 25 minutes, btw.) We are basically deadlocked with an equal amount of games left tonight and tomorrow night. What a finish!!

dusted: things still are close in a lot of categories, so I dug out the rules to see what happens if there was a tie. In the event that a playoff game ends in a tie, the deadlock is broken using the following system: 1. Most team points scored. 2. Most team rebounds. 3. Highest team field goal percentage. 4. Highest team free throw percentage. 5. Fewest team turnovers. 6. Most team 3-point shots made. 7. Most team assists. 8. Most team steals. 9. Most team blocked shots. 10. Random "coin flip." The funny thing is that #1,2 are where we are most likely to have a tie category, thus pushing us to #3. Not that I think it will get that far, but interesting nonetheless.

This is *very* frustrating.....Nowitzki and KG shutting it down? Fantasy seasons should end kind of before this behaviour kicks in, no? Oh well, shed no tears for me...... ;) Let dusted's 3rd coronation begin!!

LeBron steps up sneaker war

Kendall blew out the competition for the Costanza....just a dominating performance. As for the playoffs, who is hurt, who is going to get run down the stretch, who is shutting their players down a bit, who goes on a cold streak at the worst time.....all these to determine a fantasy champion....good luck!!

London Irish player Juan Leguizamon

I didn't think I got him off waivers....in fact, I stayed away with a 10-foot pole from the limited amount I knew about the injury. Like I said on the other board, I just happened to watch the right 5 minutes of TV. I also think we should wait and see how Odom actually performs with that chicken wing before anyone is declared a favourite. 9th-place Catfish is giving me all I can handle right now in a very tight matchup.